AIIMS doctors’ 2007 strike illegal, says Delhi high court

The Delhi high court (HC) ruled on Monday that doctors can’t go on strikes as that would violate ailing citizens’ right to life.

The judgment came on a petition filed by SC/ST Medical Association in 2006 seeking action against All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) doctors, who struck work for 17 days and refused to attend to a large number of patients coming from different parts of the country.

The medicos were against reservation for other backward castes (OBCs).

HC said health was the basic requirement for “preservation of body — the human frame which is manifestation of life that is seen”.

“It should be borne in mind that life is a glorious gift from god,” a bench of chief justice Dipak Misra and justice Sanjiv Khanna observed.

Reminding doctors of their crucial role in the life of every human being, HC said: “All concerned with AIIMS must dedicate and devote themselves to its excellence keeping in mind that health of citizens is wealth of the nation and the same cannot be allowed to be jeopardized.”

Terming the strike illegal, the court directed the heath minister to constitute a high-powered committee to find out who participated in similar strikes since July 2006, defying a Supreme Court ruling, to protest the government’s decision to reserve 27% seats in higher educational institutions for OBC students. It said the government should proceed against the guilty as per law.

“Health is life’s grace and efforts are to be made to sustain it and for that government is required to assist people and its endeavour should be to see that people get treatment and lead a healthy life,” the judges observed.